After having carefully watched the film, I can report the following about this release:

It is not a completely restored English language version. As I predicted this is the 'commonwealth version' - the version(s) that played in Australia & Canada. It restores two full scenes: - Cuchillo love scene - Monastery scene. So, there are appox. 5 minutes of new never before scene English language footage.

The cane field chase is NOT the full-length version! Neither is the Shep/Cuchillo showdown. Sadly, the opening scene with Van Cleef and the three outlaws is the poorly edited, misleading, Columbia version. I think all fans were hoping for a GBU style "restoration" - i.e. dubbing the cut footage with voice actors - but this has not happened.

The new 95 minute version looks great, and is certainly a big improvement . However, I think the most satisfying version is still the fan made Franco Cleef dvd.

I'm not sure why it's so hard to get a simple answer to a simple question - surely someone must have the German blu-ray and surely someone must be able to say if this new US release is identical in every way, including the transfer. There is certainly English audio on the German blu-ray, so I'm just at a loss as to know whether there's any reason to order this thing.

I'm not sure why it's so hard to get a simple answer to a simple question - surely someone must have the German blu-ray and surely someone must be able to say if this new US release is identical in every way, including the transfer. There is certainly English audio on the German blu-ray, so I'm just at a loss as to know whether there's any reason to order this thing.

Well, Bob asked *once* back in October, almost three months ago. Bruce Marshall and I both have the Grindhouse version, so speaking for myself, I have zero interest in the R2 Blu-ray.

The 110 minute Italian language version is the most complete version, but evidently there is English audio on the R2 Blu-ray you're talking about, but according to this review, the english audio is still not complete and reverts to subtitles in spots.

"This Blu-ray plays the entire 110-minute picture, with the surviving English portions synchronized properly. When an Italian-only segment comes up, it may be a whole scene or a just a single dialogue line. For those sections the language reverts to Italian and English subtitles pop up."

Additionally, i did post a Mondo Digital review on Dec 7th. Did you not see this?

"In a word, great, though surprisingly it doesn't look at all like the German release. For example, take a look at shots from the German Blu-ray here and here, versus the same shots from the American theatrical version here and here. At first glance the German disc looks darker, richer, and more detailed, but it also betrays signs of artificial sharpening including some haloing in several shots. (In case you're curious, the Grindhouse extended cut looks virtually identical for most of its running time to the American one, but you can check out grabs here and here anyway for comparison.) The Grindhouse transfers also add a significant amount of visual information on the sides, which adds to the film's expansive look and allows the compositions to breathe a bit more. For a clearer demonstration, look at this shot found only in the extended version on the German release, then check out the same frame from the Grindhouse. The amped up detail on the German has harsh side effects that become very obvious in motion compared to the American release, but that should give some idea. The color timing on the German one also looks pumped up in spots, nowhere more glaringly than the opening credits; just look at this German grab compared to this one from the U.S. extended cut, which is more natural in appearance. (And just for kicks, here's a comparable frame from the American theatrical cut, which alters the main titles and drops some of the text for no apparent reason.) In short, completists will probably want both versions (since the German Blu-ray still has the option to watch the longest cut with English audio where it exists), but the Grindhouse looks like the one to beat for a long time to come."

Hey, Riotengine, I've now seen the new Grindhouse edition. My confusion was that some dope on a forum said it was the exact same package from Explosive Media - he was, of course, like most of these "experts" completely incorrect. The Grindhouse is a completely different transfer and spectacular. I would have to disagree that on first comparing that the Explosive looks richer or in any way better - in fact, looking at the two transfers back-to-back exposes just how poor the Explosive Media is. The new one has perfect color, that's for starters. It's much sharper and more detailed with really terrific contrast. By comparison, the German Blu-ray looks muddy, soft, and with nowhere near the detail. I am, of course, talking about the English version on the Grindhouse - the Italian version looks very similar to the Explosive Media version.

Anyway, kudos to Grindhouse and Sony for the gorgeous transfer, which finally gets this terrific movie looking as it should.

I'm very happy with this release. The Italian soundtrack on the 110-minute version doesn't bother me. The extra fifteen minutes make for a much better film. I watch a lot of foreign films with subtitles, so I'm quite tolerant in this regard. Nice extras (and Easter eggs!), too. The CD is also very handy for those who don't have it.

I've found two, so far. On disc one (the English language 95-minute cut) there's a trailer for RUN, MAN, RUN. On disc two (the Italian language 110-minute cut) there's a seven or eight minute piece about working with Sergio Leone on the "Dollar" movies. These Easter eggs are independent of the special features, of course. My only gripe with this set is the sequencing of the score CD: the twenty-five tracks are shuffled all over the place.